From The Sea
by HeliciaxRomione
Summary: Luna and Cho have been best friends for a long time. Cho eventually has to move to Australia because of her mother's job. They needed a miracle in the form of Hermione, a beautiful mermaid who washes ashore after a storm. They all learn about love and friendship. Based on the movie Aquamarine.
1. The Storm

_**This is based on the movie Aquamarine. This is my take on it, Harry Potter style. I recommend watching the movie to understand the story. Enjoy and review!**_

* * *

Luna and Cho were best friends for as long as they can remember. Their summer was going to end and Cho would be moving half way across the world to Australia because her mom's job was there.

It was a warm summer day and the girls spent it on the beach. There were people around playing volleyball. The waves were nice, so a lot of people were surfing.

They both looked at the lifeguard behind their umbrella. He was sitting on his chair, looking at the ocean.

Cho looked at him dreamily, "Look at him, Luna."

"I'm looking at him, Cho." Luna giggled.

Cho smiled, "Sitting up there being gorgeous! Looking for someone to rescue. He should so be rescuing us! What's wrong with this picture?"

Cho groaned in frustration. She shifted in her seat. Luna was next to her, holding a magazine.

Luna sighed, "Well all these articles say we've been way to available. We need to be more coy." She flipped through the magazine.

Cho nodded, "We're so coy, he barely knows we exist." She said annoyingly. "Okay, Ron pop quiz! Favorite song, favorite food, favorite drink, go go go!"

The blonde looked up, "Okay. Weezer's 'Island in the Sun'. Uh, Dr. Pepper and...oranges?" Luna answered.

Cho nodded, "Very nice!"

Luna laughed and adjusted her reading glasses, "I'm trying to read!"

Cho sighed, "Fine! Then the least you can do is read me the latest on boy-bagging technology."

Luna looked at her magazine for a second, she spotted an article. "Oh! Okay. This one is called 'Fluff and Retreat'. Fluff his ego, then walk away, not only is he left wanting more, but he's left under the impression that it's his idea."

Cho looked impressed, "Nice."

Luna chuckled, "That's really cool."

The sound of hollering surfers whooping suddenly filled the air.

Cho looked at the ocean as her hair blew away from her face, "Claire, do you realize that summer is almost over and you haven't got on the water once?"

Luna raised her eyebrow, her eyes still on her magazine, "Once would be way too many times." She clarified.

"Excuse me." Cho said raising her hands in innocence.

Luna scoffed, "Cho, do you realize we've got less than five days before you move? I don't want you moving half way around the world."

"Um, Luna, you're such a ruiner!" Cho throwing sand at her. Luna gasped.

"I've gone like half an hour without thinking about it." Cho said seriously.

Luna felt guilty, "Cho, I'm sorry but-"

"Besides, I haven't kissed Ron yet, so I'm not going anywhere." Cho interupted.

Luna giggled at her friend's remark.

Cho was looking at something in the distance, "Incoming."

There were a group of girls walking, there was a redhead with straight hair, a blonde in a ponytail, but worst of all, a girl with dirty blonde waves. It was Lavender Brown, the girls' worst enemy.

Cho groaned, "Lavender's back from camp!"

Luna sat next to her looking at Lavender as well. "Don't worry, he won't fall for her, he's way too smart for that."

Lavender greeted a guy she knew who passed her. She then spotted Ron. She bit her lip and unstringed her top, revealing her breasts in a bikini top. Her friends watched her.

Cho looked shocked, "Whoa."

Lavender walked confidently in Ron's direction.

Luna widened her eyes, "She can poke an eye out. We just, we have to decode his body language."

Cho started groaning and Luna stopped her, "I mean look it's fine! I mean, Cho, if he's into her, he'll shake his hair, stretch those arms and flex those muscles."

"Yeah?" Cho asked her. They looked at Ron to see what he would do. He shook his hair, leaving Cho confused. "Well, what was that?"

Luna shifted, "Fingers. That was fingers through the hair. I mean, technically that wasn't shaking, right?" She looked unsure.

Ron began to stretch. Luna gasped and started praying, "Please gods of love, no shake, no stretch, no flex, no."

Ron finally flexed his arm over his head, smiling at Lavender.

"NO!" They both screamed in unison. They fell on their backs. Causing Ron, Lavender, and her friends to look their way.

Ron looked up over the umbrella that covered them, "You guys okay?" Ron yelled from his chair.

Cho put her hand up over the umbrella, "Yeah, we're good. Thanks." They both assured.

Ron grinned and gave a thumbs up while Lavender laughed. She pulled down her sunglasses, "Baby-sit much?"

After that morning at the beach, Luna and Cho wanted to have a sleepover. It was now late, and Cho rode her bicycle to get home. There was a storm going on, it was loud and strong.

She parked her bicycle in front of the house, the looked at the 'For Sale' sign in the front. She angrily knocked it down with her feet. She hated that she had to leave Luna behind because of her mother.

"Mom, I'm home!" She said while she stepped up the stairs. She spotted all the packed boxes in the kitchen. She hated looking at them.

She went over to an open one on the kitchen table. There was bubble wrap over it. She took out the bubble wrap and took a framed picture out. It was of her when she was little with her family.

Her mother's voice came from another room, "Hey kiddo! Cho, your boxes won't pack themselves. Don't put this off until the movers come."

She ignored her mother and went in her room. She took a seat at her desk, her pet fish. She stuck a little green net in the fish bowl, her fish hid in the little decoration.

She sighed, "Come on, Moby. Don't play me like that. I haven't seen you in days."

Her mother entered the room, holding thr framed picture, "Cho, you can unpack as much as you want, but we're still moving."

"Yeah." Cho said annoyingly, finally giving in to her fish.

Her mother sighed, "How was the club?" She picked things up in Cho's room. "And maybe I could get more than one syllable this time?"

Cho nodded, "It was fine."

"Mm-hmm." Her mother responded.

"That was three." Cho retorted.

Her mother sighed, "I'm sorry sweetheart. I mean, you didn't want to leave Boston either, remember? And look what happened, you met Luna!" She shrugged, "You know Australia can be another amazing adventure for us, Cho."

Cho stayed silent, still angry at her mother.

Her mother folded one of Cho's shirts, "So how about we start packing your room?"

"So how about I live here with Claire until I'm eighteen?" Cho said harshly.

Her mother raised her voice, "How about we go back to fewer syllables?"

Cho raised her arms up, "Cool."

Her mother stopped at the door and turned around.

"That was one." Cho said.

Her mother groaned and shut the door, leaving her room.

Luna and Cho spent the night in the recreation room watching the news, eating popcorn and drinking soda.

Luna ate a handful of popcorn, "So this is where Lavender Brown gets all the drama, just look at her dad!"

Her father was the weatherman for the news channel. He held an umbrella and reported a storm, which was still going on.

"Well, as you can see-" The man on the weather had his umbrella fly away. Cho laughed.

Luna sighed, "Cho. How am I supposed to face eleventh grade without you? My locker is right next to the boys' bathroom. And I have coed PE class, by myself."

"We have to dance with Kristoff at Tha Last Splash." Cho stated, changing the subject. "We'll be such great dancers that he'll decide to marry one of us. And we'll be so happy that one of us got him, that we wouldn't even be jealous, you know? Unless, he picks you, that wouldn't be okay."

Lunna laughed.

"Just kidding." Cho commented.

"What if this is our last movie campout?" Luna asked in a serious tone.

Cho groaned loudly and closed her eyes, "O gods of hurricanes, makers of thunder and lightning and majestical waves!"

Luna laughed, her friend could be crazy at times.

Cho continued the prayer, "Useth your powers to keep my mom from moving to Australia. Maketh to see the error of her ways, and keepeth us in Baybridge!"

Thunder started rumbling, scaring Luna. Cho took a piece of popcorn and threw it behind her back, "Ameneth!"

Luna coffed, "You're insane!"

Cbo shrugged, "That's what they tell me!" She got up to get some soda and laughed maniacally.

Luna grabbed the bag of popcorn and sighed, "Ameneth." Luna wbispered, throwing piece of popcorn behind her as well.

Lightning struck the weather weather vane. Suddenly, the games started beeping, vending machines started clanging, and the lights turned on and off.

The soda machine spurted out Coca Cola cans. Some exploded once they hit the ground.

Cho laughed, "The vending machine is posessed! It look's like we've got free-"

"Cho!" Luna yelled when the lights turned off.

"Soda?"

Luna felt around her, "Where are you? Are you dead? Don't die!" She panicked.

"I'm not dead. I'm here, just follow my voice." Cho instructed.

The storm became stronger. "Oh God!" Luna shrieked. "Something's out there!"

Cho finally reached Luna, they looked at each other, "I just want you to know that if someone comes in here and chops us up into a million pieces, that you are eternally my best friend."

"You're my best friend, too." Luna said softly.

Cho bit her lip, "And, I broke your iPod."

Luna gasped and pushed her. They both giggled. A woman wearing a trenchcoat and hat came in.

They both screamed in terror. The woman eventually took off the hat. "What are you girls doing out here in this weather."

It was Luna's grandmother. The two sighed in relief. "Grandma, you scared me!" Luna said.

"Let get the two of you tucked up in bed." She said to both of them.

Cho chuckled, "Oh, Mrs. L, if I habe nightmares tonight, I'm blaming you." They both followed her back inside the house.


	2. Meeting the Mermaid

Gulls were screeching outside. Luna went out to the balcony to look outside. She saw the wreckage the storm has caused. Some of the wooden gates were broken, chairs were knocked over and the pool was filthy.

"Oh, my God." She muttered. There were men, including Ron picking up the lifeguard tower. She gasped and turned around, "Ron's out!"

Cho appeared and looked outside.

"He's beautiful." Luna said. "Come on, let's go down."

Luna slipped on a bigger shirt over her t-shirt. They both ran outside and witnessed the damage. Luna sighed, "Look at this."

Luna's grandfather and a few of the workers were there beside the pool. "Ron, I hope you're ready to clean." Luna's grandfather said.

Ron sighed as he looked around. "Wow."

Cho and Luna laughed as they watched Ron.

Ron went beside Luna's grandfather, "Think you'll have to call off Last Splash?"

Cho and Luna looked up, "No! No!"

Cho ran over to them, "No, Mr. L! You can't! I'm sorry but you can't do that. Mr. L, me and Luna have been planning this forever."

Luna leaned in closer to look at the pool, it was lit, "Grandpa, are the pool lights still on?" Suddenly, she fell into the pool and screamed.

"Luna!" Ron quickly took off his shirt and jumped in to save her.

Inside the pool, Luna panicked. She saw seaweed, and a tail swim past her. Something stared at her, it had brown hair and sang something. Luna screamed but Ron caught her and brought her back up.

"There's a shark in the pool!" She screamed. There was water in her mouth so she coughed repeatedly.

Ron carried her out, You're okay. You're okay. Shh, I got you. Here, somebody get a chair."

She was still coughing. He put her down on the chair, "Okay, calm down."

Cho gave Ron a towel to drape over Luna. "She may be in shock. Take a deep breath."

"She doesn't do good in water. Her parents drowned." Cho said to Ron.

"I saw something." She said still coughing. "It's in there! I don't know what it was!"

Cho grabbed Luna, "That was tight, Ron." He looked at her and smiled.

She brought Luna to a different place, "Oh my God, Ron totally jumped in there to save you, with his actual biceps!"

Luna looked at her friend, "Cho, I saw something in there."

"Fine, then we'll just go back when no one is looking and we'll check it out."

Luna shook her head, "No way, Cho. I didn't want to go in the water in the first place and I'm not going back there again!"

Cho made a face, "Come on, Luna. Put on your big girl pants and meet me at ten." She turned around and walked away.

It was nighttime at the beach club. They jumped over the gate after Cho threw a backpack over.

Luna looked at Cho after she landed on the ground, Keep it down! Grandpa will be super mad at us!"

They heard a door open and got down to the ground. It was Hagrid, he was on watch for the night. They ran around the pool, avoiding the security lights.

Cho laid her backpack down and looked down in the pool. There was still seaweed and filth in the water. She took out a jar of sardines.

Luna leaned in, "Hey, maybe we should get fishing poles out or something."

Cho quickly protested, "Shh, no! I don't want to catch it." She took out a sardine, "I want to feed it." She dropped it in the water.

She then took out a bag of fishsticks.

"Fishsticks?" Luna asked, thinking her friend wasn't serious.

"Maybe it was an octupus."

Luna sighed as Cho dropped a fish stick into the pool. "With blue hair? And a tail?"

Cho shrugged, "It could've been blue seaweed. Or kelp." She took out gummy worms and ate them.

Luna rolled her eyes. "It was not an octupus, and it wasn't kelp!"

Cho brought the bag to her face, "You want one?"

"I saw hair!" Luna shouted as she knocked the bag of gummy worms out of Cho's hand, making some of the worms fall into the pool.

"God!" Cho wrapped the bag and put it down.

"Listen, if you're gona ignore every single word I say-"

Cho scoffed, "I'm not ignoring you!"

They began arguing over each other and getting louder. Just then, something moved in the water but they didn't notice.

"I bet I know what it was."

They both stopped arguing and looked at the end of the pool. There was a young woman with brown hair, she was eating one of the gummy worms. "I'm guessing...it was a mermaid." She had a big blue tail.

Luna and Cho's mouths were wide open, they couldn't comprehend what they were seeing. A gummy worm fell out of Cho's mouth.

The woman ducked half of her head underwater and swam towards them. Eventually, she dived under the water. The girls gasped as she went closer.

Eventually, the woman dived under the water, making her invisible to the girls. Cho looked around the pool to spot her under the water. The woman came up at their end of the pool. Luna gasped. Cho held on to her in fear.

The woman smiled, "Boo."

Luna and Cho screamed loud. Luna quickly covered Cho's mouth so Hagrid wouldn't hear them. The woman giggled.

Luna stuttered, "It's a, uh, you're a, a m-"

The woman rolled her eyes in exasperation, "I can see we have to take things slowly. Mer...maid."

"Mermaid." Luna repeated.

Cho whimpered. "Wha-"

"Fabled marine creature. Half woman, half fish. Best known for sitting on rocks, staring into mirrors, and obsessively combing our long, beautiful hair. Blah, blah, bl-" Her voice gurgled as she submerged herself into the water again.

Cho whimpered, "What is going on?"

Suddenly, there was a loud splash. Luna and Cho shrieked.

The mermaid's hands grabbed the edge of the pool, her nails changed from white to red. "Stop shrieking like a couple of gulls!" She splashed her tail in the water. "For shrimps, you're awfully loud."

"You speak English?" Cho asked her.

"Yeah. Mermaids speak every laguage known to man, fish, crustacean, and several varieties of sea fowl. What can you speak?" The mermaid asked her.

"I got a C in Spanish." Cho answered. She walked closer to her.

"Wait!" Luna stopped her, "What if she's like, bad or something?"

"Why would she be bad?" Cho whispered.

"She's a fictional sea creature! They could be bad!"

"We are not fictional!" The mermaid yelled. "We're discreet. Hm!"

Cho kneeled down next to her.

The mermaid looked fascinated. "I've never been this close to a human before!"

Cho nodded slowly, "Yeah, must be weird for you."

The mermaid tried to grab her arm but eventually stopped. She lifted up her tail and saw Cho looking. "What?"

"Nothing."

She laughed, "You're staring at my tail."

She nodded, "Well, yeah. I was."

"Do you, wanna touch it?" She asked her.

"Okay." Cho stuck her water in and felt her tail and quickly pulled her hand out. "Ugh, it's slimy!"

She laughed, "Thank you, I rub it with kelp and jellyfish twice a day!"

There was a gummy worm in the middle of the pool, the mermaid spotted it. "Hey, get back here." She swished her hand, causing the water to make a small wave, carrying the gummy worm.

She took it and happily took a bite, "Mm!"

"How, how did you do that?" Luna asked.

"Oh, that's nothing. You should see my father. He can make some serious waves. Like last night, for example."

"Your dad made those waves?" Cho asked.

The mermaid nodded, "Yeah." She leaned in, "He's mad at me because I swam away from home three days before I'm supposed to get married off to this merman who's about as deep as a tidal pool."

"Hey!" The voice came from the shed.

Luna gasped, "Hagrid! We have to go. He's a total psycho."

Hagrid opened the door carrying a light , "Is someone over there?"

Cho turned around, "You have to hide."

The mermaid grabbed her, "Wait! Where are you going?"

"We'll be back tomorrow morning." Cho told her.

"Promise?"

Cho nodded, "Promise!"

"Run!" Luna said.

"Is someone over there?" He yelled again.

Cho stood up, "Don't get seen!"

The mermaid saw Hagrid and went under the water, being out of his sight. He looked around the pool. The mermaid quickly took the bag of gummy worms beside his feet.

He shined his light to the water, "That was weird."


	3. A Wish

The sun was rising up, casting an orange glow over the beach club. Luna woke Cho up. They both heard whirring outside. They ran to the balcony to see what it was.

Luna gasped. One of the workers sucked up all the pool water with a machine. "This is bad! This is so bad!"

They ran down and confronted the man, "What have you done?" Cho shouted.

"I drained the pool." He said.

Luna looked in the pool, "She's not in there, but how could she just get out?"

They heard clattering in the snack bar. The girls ran over and opened the little doors in the front.

The mermaid they met last night suddenly swung a tennis racket, causing the girls to scream in fear. She was naked behind the swimming equipment. She realized that it was them and sighed, "Oh, it's you?"

The girls started giggling.

"I thought you were that man with that awful sucking machine! I almost got turned inside out!"

Luna looked at her; "How did you get in here?"

"I used these!" She lifted one of her legs.

"Whoa!" Cho said.

The mermaid fell after holding her leg for too long. "My very own pair!"

"We got to get you out of here!" Luna whispered. She faced Cho, "Give her your shirt."

Cho refused, "No, my swimming suit is like boy repellent, what if Ron sees?"

"It's either your bathing suit or her birthday suit, come on!" Luna held her hands out.

The mermaid smiled. Cho removed her shirt, revealing her swimsuit underneath. She smiled back at the mermaid and threw her t-shirt at her.

The mermaid caught it and giggled, she fell over again and tried to get the shirt on. She came out wearing the shirt, her arms weren't in the sleeves.

Cho laughed, "No! That's not what you do, you have to put your arms through them. You know what I mean?"

The mermaid nodded and tied the shirt in front of her.

Cho shook her head, "No, no. That's not-"

The mermaid then tied it again behind her neck. The mermaid turned around.

Luna gasped, "Wow! That looks amazing!"

Cho agreed, "I know!"

* * *

The mermaid whooped as she bounced on Luna's bed. Bags of gummy worms covered the bed.

"I don't get how you can sleep on these when they're so jumpy! I could do this all day!"

Luna's grandmother heard the noise in a different room. "Luna? What on Earth is going on in there?"

The mermaid laughed as she continued jumping on the bed.

"You know, you really need to stop! Grandma's gonna be really mad at us!" Luna warned her.

She jumped higher, "You worry too much!"

Cho walked over to her and sat on the bed. She eventually stopped jumping and plopped down next to Cho. "I love legs!"

"So do you get to keep them?" Cho asked her.

Hermione shrugged, "Technically, we can only have legs when the sun is out. And we have to keep then dry. Or, at least that's what I've heard. I never had the guts to come out and try 'em!"

Cho smiled, "So this is your first time ashore?"

"First time on land, first time with legs!" She lifted her legs up excitedly. "But I have to be careful. Add moonlight or water, instand tail."

Luna walked by her. The mermaid smiled, "Hey, look what I can do!" She kicked Luna.

Luna laughed and sat down next to them, "Stop that!"

Suddenly, the shell on the vanity rang. The mermaid rolled her eyes and fell on the bed, "Ugh, krabs, they found me!"

Luna raised her brow, "With a shell?"

The mermaid walked over to the vanity, "Mm-hmm. You know you could hear the ocean through these?"

"Well, yeah." Luna replied.

"Well it works both ways." She picked up the shell and sat on the vanity desk. "The ocean can hear you too."

She lifted the shell to her ear, "Hello? Dad?"

A man on the other line yelled at her, "Hermione! Just what do you think you're doing?"

"Daddy!"

Cho smiled and nodded to Luna, "Shell phone." They both laughed.

The mermaid covered the shell and looked at the two girls, "Could you give me a minute?"

Luna apologized, she and Cho went out to the balcony.

The mermaid was yelling inside. "Well, that's your plan, not mine. I don't want to marry some spoiled, rich, squid!"

Her father yelled at her through the phone. "Well, you can make all the storms you want, but I'm not coming back!"

Luna and Cho witnessed thunder crashing and the clouds turned gray.

The mermaid walked back and forth, "No! Love is not a myth, Daddy, it's real!"

"You think her dad is doing this?" Cho yelled at Luna over the rumbling thunder.

"Three days. I'll prove it to you!" She sighed, "Well, if I'm wrong, then I will honor your plans. And I'll call you every night, okay? So calm down!" She groaned in frustration as she slammmed the shell down.

The storm eventually calmed down and it was sunny again. The mermaid went out on the balcony with them.

"I have to find love." She told them. "We don't it where I'm from and if I can't find it in three days, I'm sunk." She shrugged.

Luna looked confused, "Wait, you don't have love?"

She shook her head. "No. My dad says it's just a myth. We marry who our parents pick. And my dad thinks that I have bubbles in my brain because I believe in love. He says that the only way I can get out of my wedding is if I can prove to him that love exists." She explained.

"But that means I only get three days. Or else I'll be swimming down the aisle with that..." she shuddered, "that blowfish!"

"But if you don't have love, how do you know it exists?" Cho questioned.

She shrugged, "I saw it once. And I want it." She looked out at the ocean and saw someone kite surfing.

"With him!"

Cho looked at where she was looking and gasped. "Ron?!"

Luna gasped as well, "Ron?!"

The mermaid brushed her hair back, "Raymond." She said dreamily.

She sighed, "Ron is the one I love."

"No!" The friends yelled in unison.

The mermaid turned around and ran downstairs. The friends quickly ran after her. Ron was outside under a shower on the beach, rinsing himself and whipping his hair.

She saw him and ran towards him, "Ron! Ron! Ron!"

He turned around and faced her, "Yeah?"

She smiled, "Hi."

He looked confused to why a stranger was talking to him. "Hi."

"Do you love me?" She asked him.

He spit water out of his mouth and turned off the shower, "Ugh, no. But I think you're hot. You're really hot."

His friends showed up behind him in a car. "Come on, man. We got to go! The beach house is going off!"

Ron wiped his face, "Yeah, I know. I know. I know." He turned back to her, "Well, uh, I'll see you later."

His friends waited for him. "Come on man!"

She was left in shock and sadly walked away. "He doesn't love me? How can he not love me?" She groaned and laid down on a hammock, "I need some salt."

"What did he say?" Cho and Luna asked her in unison.

She made a confused expression, "He said I was hot, but how would he know?" She took Luna's hand and placed it on her forehead. "Do I feel hot to you?"

They both giggled. Luna laughed, "I think you mistook it."

She gasped, "You have to help me get him to fall in love with me!"

"Yeah, right!" Luna said.

"No, no, no. Ron's way too popular. You should pick someone else." Cho suggested.

Luna nodded, "I mean, all the girls are after him! Even a few boys."

She shrugged, "Fine. Then you don't get your wish!" She began to walk away.

"Wish?" They said together.

"Wait, what? What wish?" Luna asked.

"Oh, you know. If you help a mermaid, you get a wish. Any wish you could wish for."

Luna and Cho looked at each other. "I thought that was genies."

She laughed at Luna, "You believe in genies?"

"What if our wish, involves other people?"

Cho nudged Luna, "Like my mom!"

She nodded, "It's a wish. Any wish. As long as it doesn't violate the laws of nature then yeah."

They both grabbed each other's hands and jumped up and down excitedly. "We can help you! We can help you! Yes, yes, yes!"

"But just to let you know, this is a humongous sacrifice for us. Giving up Ron?" Cho said.

The mermaid's face brightened up, "So you know him pretty well?"

Luna scoffed, "Oh yeah, we're experts on Raymond!"

"Oh yeah, we know him really well!"

"We're like Ron-ologists." Luna said.

"Good!" She said happily, "But he has to say he loves me because I need proof for my dad. Otherwise you don't get your wish. Deal?"

Cho paused, then nodded, "Deal."

Luna looked at Cho, "Deal." They both decided to help this girl. They needed the wish.

She smiled, "My name's Hermione. Now, let's go find Ron!" She cheered excitedly and ran the other direction.

Cho ran after her, "You need shoes!"

Luna ran too. She realized that Hermione didn't have any undergarments, "Yeah! And undies!"


	4. The Rules of a Crush

Hagrid shoveled the seaweed in the empty pool and put them in the trash. He found a chain that caught his attention, it was gold and had a pearl on the bottom.

He then looked under a pile of seaweed and found a white gem and compared the two. It was interesting.

* * *

Cho opened the door to her house with Luna and Hermione following her inside.

Hermione gasped when she saw a display of a fish skeleton on a shelf.

"Creepy, right? My mom collects this stuff." Cho explained.

"What does your mom do?" Hermione asked her when she examined a picture of Cho and her mom.

"Besides ruin my life? She's a marine biologist."

Luna nodded, "Yeah. She's all scientific."

Cho walked into her room, "More like horrific. She's dragged me all over the country for her job! She's been working to clean up the water in the bay here."

Luna and Hermione took a seat, "Well, her thanks for me because it tastes about ten times better than it did a few years ago."

Cho raised her eyebrows, "Really? Huh. Okay, first things first-"

Hermione looked at Cho's fish.

"Um, Hermione, what are you doing?"

She saw her fish hiding, "He doesn't like this harsh light." She took the lamb and swung it away from the fish bowl.

Her fish swam out of the decoration, "Moby! He came out of hiding!" Cho felt happy that he was out in the open.

Luna was impressed, "Wow. Can you make boobs come out of hiding?"

Hermione and Cho laughed.

"Okay. We begin where every girl starts with her first crush. We call him." She picked up the blue phone.

Hermione gasped, "Call him? What? No, I can't. What am I supposed to say to him?"

Luna sat beside Cho, "Nothing. You just call and hang up."

"Why?"

"I don't know. It's just what you do." Cho said.

Hermione slowly nodded. "Okay."

Cho started dialing Ron's number. Hermione was nervous, "Wait a minute."

Cho held the phone to her ear, "It's ringing."

Hermione squealed excitedly and grabbed the phone.

"Hello?" It was Ron's voice.

Hermione screamed and hung up the phone. She threw it out the window. "That was fantastic! Let's do it again!"

Luna covered her mouth, laughing along with Cho.

The girls rode their bicycles on the street. Hermione sat on the handlebars of Luna's bicycle.

"Okay, the next step here is the ride-by. Very important in any crush." Cho explained.

Luna looked at Hermione, "Now remember. You have to act casual."

Cho motioned her hand, "Yes, like you didn't even remember this was his street."

Hermione smiled and nodded. The girls began riding down the quiet street. The houses had palm trees in the front lawn. They passed by a small white house that resembled a beach house.

Luna pointed it out to Hermione. "That's Ron's house!" She said excitedly. The girls giggled as they passed his house back and forth on the street. Hermione looked in the house to see if he was inside. They all giggled each time they passed his house.

Ron was doing sit-ups in his room on the second floor. He groaned in pain each time he went up, "Oh this hurts. But it'll be worth it."

He couldn't help but wonder what was going on outside. He heard noises but he must have been imagining. He sat up when he heard giggling. He walked over to the window, "What the?"

He looked outside but didn't see anyone. He lifted the weight from the stack by his window. He saw Hermione on the bike and smiled. She looked at his window again and noticed he was there. He waved at her, causing her to twist the handle bar.

"Hermione, no, that's the-" Luna's bike tires screeched "Brake!"

Hermione gasped as she fell forward and landed on the stone path in the front of the house. Ron gasped when she fell and quickly ran downstairs.

Luna and Cho ran to her side, "Hermione! Are you okay?"

Hermione seemed fine as she happily picked herself up, "I saw him. Did you see him? He waved at me!"

Ron appeared when he opened the gate, "Hey, hey, hey, are you okay?"

Luna smiled "Hey Ron."

He looked up at the blonde, "Hey." He turned his gaze back to Hermione.

Luna excitedly grabbed Cho's arms, "Oh my God!" She whispered.

Hermione looked at him, "We didn't even remember this was your street!"

He let out a small laugh, "Yeah, okay let's see what you got here." He examined her scraped knee and gasped. "Ah, nothing to serious. You run it under some cold water, you'll be-"

Hermiome waved her hands, "No, no, no, no, no!"

Ron raised his hands, "Hey, hey! I wouldn't hurt you." He said calmly.

Hermione nodded nervously.

He reached into his back pocket, "All right, let me at least put a Band-Aid on it. Yeah?"

She nodded. "Aww!" Luna said to Cho. Cho smiled at the couple.

He took his wallet out and took out a bandage, "Lifeguard's always prepared, right?" He placed the Band-Aid on her knee, "This won't hurt a bit. There you go. Voila!"

Hermione smiled at the Band-Aid. "Thank you. It's, it's beautiful."

Ron laughed, "So um, what was your name?"

"Hermione." She said.

He nodded, "Cool name. Will I see you at the street fair today?"

Hermione nodded. There was the sound of girls whooping and a car honking. "I love this song!"

"Oh, no!" Luna said to Cho when she realized it was Lavender and her friends in a pink car.

Cho stuck her hands in her pockets, "Who ordered broom service?"

Lavender waved at Ron, "Hey Ron! I'm here for my driving lesson." Ron raised his hand to her, letting her know he got the message.

"Let's get you up." He picked Hermione up by her arm. "You going to be all right?"

Hermione nodded again.

"Okay, cool." He looked at Lavender, "All right, hey, hang on one sec. I gotta go grab my keys!"

He looked at Hermione again, "So, I'll see you later?" As he backed away, he tripped on a rock, "Oh, rock. Be careful." He said awkwardly.

Hermione looked over at Lavender and her friends, "Who is she?"

"Lavender." Cho said. "She thinks she's the shiz because her dad does the weather."

"Her dad can make weather?" Hermione put her hand on her hip.

Luna laughed, "No, he just reports it."

Hermione looked at her license plate. "And she's a princess?"

"No, no, no. Just a royal bitch." Cho said coldly.

Hermione laughed, "Then why are you so intimidated?"

Lavender pulled up beside the girls. She pulled down her sunglasses, "Whoa."

She turned to Fleur who was in the passenger seat. "Hey guys, does she have something against girls clothes?"

She pointed at Hermione. Her friends laughed as Lavender looked at Hermione. "Nice hair. Who are you?"

"Hermione." Luna answered her. "She's my cousin."

Ginny looked at her from the back seat. "Well, that's kind of pretty."

Lavender scoffed, "For a dog!"

"My name is derived from the Greek god Hermes. The son of Zeus and nephew of Poseidon, god of the sea. Whereas Lavender comes from the latin word, 'lavare' which translated means, 'to wash'." She said.

Lavender looked at her disapprovingly.

Hermione shrugged, "But your parents know you better than I do."

"Wow." Cho said.

Lavender frowned, "What did you just say to me?"

Hermione turned to Cho and nodded, "Yup, she's definitely clueless."

Lavender laughed and started the engine but it boomed and stalled.

Hermione, Luna, and Cho bursted out laughing and high fived each other. Lavender groaned. The girls took their bicycles and walked away. Luna waved goodbye to Lavender.

Lavender looked at Hermione as she walked away, "There's something very fishy about that girl."

* * *

The girls went to Luna's house. Luna was still laughing. "Lavender Brown blew a gasket!"

Hermione sighed, "Who cares about her? What about Ron?" She shut the door when they went in Luna's room. "What happened to me back there? I was such a clam! I couldn't think!"

"Don't worry. Everything we've learned about boys has come from the pages of these magazines." She held up a pile of magazines and smiled, "Come on."

Cho and Luna put two piles of magazines on Luna's bed.

"I can't stop thinking about him. I feel so weird and tingly." Hermione picked up a Cosmopolitan magazine and gasped.

"What?" Luna asked frantically.

"Look at my finger scales!"

Luna grabbed her left hand while Cho looked at her right hand. Hermione's fingers changed from white to purple. "They've never been this color before! They change color with my mood."

"Whoa. Weird!" Luna said looking at her fingernails.

Hermiome shook her head, "But I don't know what mood this is!"

"Love!" Luna and Cho sang teasily. Hermione smiled.

"Okay. Start reading. We have a lot to cover before we go to the street fair." Cho told Hermione.

Hermione picked up the magazine and started reading. She read articles about love, breakups, and tips on flirting. Cho guided her through the magazines and what they were saying.

After half an hour they have gone through all the magazines, Hermione grew frustrated and threw the magazine in the pile. "How do you remember all this? You have to be, flirty but demure?"

"Yeah." Luna nodded.

"Devoted but not desperate?"

Cho nodded.

"Available but elusive? And if he calls Wednesday for Saturday, you have to be busy even though you're free?" She questioned.

Luna and Cho nodded, "Yeah."

"It's so annoying!" Hermione grabbed another magazine. "Yet strangely addictive."

Luna tried taking the magazine away from her but Hermione pulled it from her.

"I think she's on the brink of a boy data overload!" Cho said.

Luna eventually snagged the magazine away from Hermione.

Luna looked at Cho, "Let's take her out."


	5. Street Fair

The fair was crowded with people. There were skateboarders, juggling, and the sound of bells dinging in the distance. Hermione was looking around and was fascinated with everything. She saw people holding colorful balloons.

Luna pointed, "There he is!"

Ron was playing a basketball game with his friends. He was shoving a friend while carrying a basketball.

Hermione gasped and jumped excitedly, "Ron! Ron! Hi!"

Cho and Luna held her down. "Haven't you learned anything? Let him see you first!" Luna told her.

Hermione felt guilty, "Sorry. I just got so excited, I forgot."

Luna nodded, "It's okay, just-"

Hermione widened her eyes, "Hey! How about if we do what Liz D. from Skokie suggests? The "Laugh and Pass". Casually walk past him, laughing."

Cho smiled, "Good idea!"

Hermione bit her lip and brushed her hair. Her, Luna, and Cho began walking and started laughing as loud as they could. Luna put her hand to her chest for added effect.

Cho looked at Hermione, "That was so funny!"

Ron threw a basketball in the hoop. He looked back and saw Hermione with Cho and Luna.

Cho whispered to Hermione. "Okay, look at him."

She looked back and saw him. He looked back again and their eyes met.

"Look away!" Cho turned Hermione back.

"Look at him and play with your hair. Just kind of twirl it. Twirl it." Cho twirled her own hair to demonstrate.

Hermione looked back and twirled her hair. Ron didn't see her as he was laughing with his friends.

Cho saw that he wasn't looking, "Arch your back, arch your back."

Luna jumped in, "Pucker your lips and flip your hair, flip it."

Hermione started throwing her head back and forth obnoxiously.

Luna smiled, "Yeah flip it!"

Cho turned Hermione again, "Don't look at him. No, no, no!" She turned back, "He's looking at you."

Luna sighed, "Okay, fluff and retreat."

"What?" Hermione asked loudly.

Ron's friend clapped, "Come on, you can do it, Ron. Come on, Ron!"

Cho touched her arm, "Fluff his ego and retreat. Go."

They pushed her towards Ron. He got the basketball in the hoop. His friends cheered. His friend high fived him, "Yeah!"

Hermione walked up to him, "Wow Ron! You're good! Bye!"

As she walked away, Ron stepped forward, "Wha-?"

She happily went back to her friends. "You didn't fluff enough!" Luna said.

"Here you go, man!" The vendor said as he gave Ron a big dolphin he won for getting the ball in the hoop.

He quickly ran towards Hermione, "Hey! Hey, where are you going?"

"Guess she did!" Cho whispered to Luna. She went over to Luna so Ron and Hermione could walk with each other.

Ron turned around to see his friends, "Hey, guys, I'll catch up with you. Okay? I'm gonna hang out with 'Mione."

Luna gasped, "Oh my God, he gave her a nickname!" She whispered to Cho.

Ron smiled at her, "Hey."

"Hi." She said.

He squeaked the dolphin and made dolphin noises and talked in a goofy voice, "Ar! Ar! Ar! Are you having a good time!"

She giggled as he pushed the toy in her face. "Yes. Following you around is fun!"

He laughed, "Okay." He looked down at the toy, "Um, this guy is for you."

He handed her the toy. She took it and squeaked it, "Thanks!"

He put his hands in his pockets, "You're welcome."

"Cotton candy! Come and get your cotton candy!" A lady announced at a cotton candy stand. A younger girl with brown hair tied in pigtails was beside the lady. There were tubs of premade cotton candy on display.

Hermione turned her head in a circle as she watched the lady make the cotton candy.

Ron looked in her direction, "You want one?"

She nodded, "Yeah."

"Okay." They walked over to the stand. Hermione put down her dolphin toy while Ron took out his wallet.

"Just one, please? Thanks." Ron pulled out a five dollar bill and handed it to the lady. She gave him three dollars back.

The girl in pigtails handed Hermione cotton candy on a stick. She gasped and felt the cotton candy. She started brushing it on her face. She loved how soft it felt.

Luna and Cho watched her. "Um, I just love eating cotton candy! I mean I love eating it! Don't you Cho?" Luna said loudly.

Cho agreed. They both looked at Hermione. "It's so much fun to _eat_ it!" Luna said.

Hermione looked at the cotton candy and took a piece of it. She ate the cotton candy. Ron smiled at her and took a piece as well.

Her eyes widened and she turned ro Ron, "It just vanished!"

He chuckled, "Mm-hmm."

Luna and Cho noticed he shook his hair. "Shake." Luna said.

He started stretching his arms. Luna looked at Cho, "Stretch."

He flexed his arms behind his head. Luna gasped, "Flex!"

"He likes her!" Luna and Cho said in unison.

Hermione looked over to the distance, "Hey, what are those? Water bikes?"

"What, you've never been on a paddle boat before?" He pointed to the paddle boats.

She shook her head, "Uh-uh."

Cho nudged Luna, "Oh, he's so cute."

"Come on, I'll give you your first ride!" He took her arm. She grabbed her dolphin toy and followed him.

Luna and Cho walked in front of the cotton candy stand. Luna brushed her hair back, "Do you think she'll be okay there?"

Cho shrugged, "She's with Ron, isn't she?"

Luna crossed her arms and bit her lip, "I guess. Come on."

Hermione and Ron were in the middle of the lake. The sunset was beautiful, it cast a heavenly glow on the lake. She looked over at Ron and smiled.

"So uh, how long you in town?"

She groaned, "Two more days. Then my dad's making me come home. If he doesn't get his way it's always a huge disaster."

He scratched his head, "Eh, pretty controlling, huh?"

She laughed, "You have no idea."

"Yeah I do. My dad, he's all..." he gestured his arm forward. "dead set on me starting college next week. But, I don't know, I want to take a year off and travel."

He looked over at her, "I've never been out of Florida. So we've been arguing about it all summer. And he'll probably win the argument. He always does."

She stood up and sat in the middle of the paddle boat, "They just don't get it, do they? Sometimes you have to leave home to figure out what you want."

"Exactly!" He smiled at her. They stared at each other for a second. "You know, you're not like most girls around here."

Luna and Cho were buying ice cream at an ice cream truck nearby. Luna turned around and smiled at the couple, "They're so cute together!"

"Luna, how romantic is that?" Cho smiled. Luna giggled.

"This is nice." Ron said relaxing in his seat.

Hermiome looked up, "The sun is setting."

"Yeah. I know. We timed it pretty well, didn't we?" He started standing up but she quickly sat back down and peddled fast.

"I have to get back!" She panicked and peddled really fast.

Run grunted and struggled to get his feet on the peddle, "Okay. All right."

"Oh no! We're going the wrong way! We're heading back out to sea!" She yelled.

He dipped his hand in the water, "Yeah, we're turning around, everything's okay..."

Hermione called out, "Cho! Luna!"

Luna took a bite of her vanilla ice cream, "Sunset!"

Cho opened her mouth, "Oh no!"

"She's gonna pop a tail!" Luna shouted.

"Just add moonlight or water!" Cho remembered.

They both ran as fast as they could and threw their ice cream away.

"I have to get back!" Hermione yelled again.

He peddled with her, "Hey, hey. Here, let's talk about something to, um, distract you, okay? Like, um, what are you doing tomorrow night? Have you heard about the Last Splash?"

"We're coming, Aqua!" Cho shouted through a mouthful of ice cream.

"It's a party type thing. Wow, you're really in a hurry!"

She panted, "It's not your fault. I just, I have to be somewhere!"

Cho faced the people in the paddle boats by the dock. "Hey, you've got to help out friend! She's really sick she's got hypertension!"

"Hydrophobia!" Luna said.

The people stared at them. "Yeah! Come on, please! This is serious!"

Luna and Cho moved their arms, "Faster!"

Ron and Hermione ran into another couple on a paddleboat.

Luna groaned, "Oh no!"

Cho nodded, "Okay, you're almost there! Almost there!"

Hermione tried to walk past the people in the paddle boats. "Sorry. Pardon me."

She fell on a lady. "Hey!"

She finally reached them. "Let's go."

"Bikes are around the corner! Run!" Luna said running behind Hermione.

Hermione turned around, "Sorry! It was so much fun!"

Cho shoved Hermione, "Go! Go! We gotta get you back!"

Ron awkwardly waved at Hermione as she left.

Lavender, Fleur, and Ginny were at a jewelery booth. Lavender saw them and smile mischeviously. She touched Fleur's arm, "I'll be right back."

She walked over to Ron, "Hey Ron!"

They finally reached the bikes, "That was too close. I need some water to spend the night in."

"How about the ocean?" Cho suggested.

Hermione quickly protested, "No, no ocean. My father would just manipulate the currents and pull me back home."

Luna had an idea, "I know a place."

* * *

The girls looked up at a giant water tower. Hermione took in the sight. It was almost intimidating to her.

"Holy mackerel." Hermione muttered.

Cho laughed and parked her bike, "Come on. Let's go." She climbed the ladder. "Luna are you doing this?"

Luna stuttered, "Uh-"

Hermione turned around, "Aren't you coming?"

She shook her head, "I don't do water. On the ground or in the air."

Cho groaned, "Ron was about to kiss you with his actual lips!" She shook the ladder in frustration.

Hermione turned around, "Stupid sun!"

"Did Ron say anything?" Cho asked her.

Hermiome climbed a step, "He asked me if I heard of Last Splash."

Lua and Cho gasped, "What?!"

Luna looked up from the ground, "Exactly what did he say?"

"Uh.." she banged the ladder as she thought, "I can't remember!"

Cho looked down at her, "So was it, "Are you going?" or "Will you go with me?""

Hermione looked up, "Is there a difference?"

"Huge." Cho nodded.

"Major!" Luna said.

"Okay, well, it started with, "What are you doing tomorrow night?""

Luna smiled, "Oh my God, he was totally asking you out on a date!"

"He was?" Hermione asked her happily.

"Absolutely!"

"Yes! Whoo!" She threw her head back and shook the ladder.

Cho laughed. Luna sat back down, "Be careful, guys."

Cho continued giggling. One of the ladder's screws came unloose, causing the ladder to move abruptly. Cho screamed and Hermione held her back. Luna gasped, putting her hand to her chest.

Cho looked down, "Thanks."

"Sure." Hermione replied. "Why won't Luna come with us?"

"She's not good around water. It's kind of a long story." Cho took the "Unauthorized Access Only" sign out.

She walked along the railing and she looked out. She saw the ocean. The waves were gentle and came in on tje shore. "Wow. I wish I could hide out here with you."

She opened the door and looked inside. "Is this gonna be okay?" She asked Hermione.

She nodded, "Yeah!" She giggled as she threw her dolphin toy inside. She jumped in. There was a glow of light and her legs transformed into a beautiful scaly blue tail. She swam around gracefully.

"Wow." Cho said.

Hermione went up and laid her arms on the threshold.

Cho looked at her tail, "I almost forgot."

Hermione looked back at her tail and laughed, "Me, too. This is nice."

Cho sighed in relief, "Good. Are you gonna be okay in here?"

She scoffed, "Are you gonna be okay out there?"

Cho put her hand to her chest and laughed. She stood up, "I'll see you tomorrow." She closed the door half way.

"Fish butt!" Hermione said quickly.

"I heard that!" Cho yelled from a distance.

Hermione smiled and giggled to herself as she swam around.

* * *

Cho shined a flashlight at all her packed boxes in her room. Her and Luna were lying in a tent in her room.

"I never realized how big this room was. Without all my stuff in it. I want this wish so bad, Luna." Luna nodded.

"Luna?"

The blonde turned to her friend, "Yeah?"

"Do you think he'll fall in actually with her? In two days?"

"He has to. It's her last hope." Luna looked down.

She suddenly gasped, "Cho?"

She laughed, "What?"

"We completely forgot something. What's Hermione going to wear to the Last Splash? I mean, she can't keep wearing your T-shirts. No offense."

Cho put her hand up, "Hey, hey. We'll take the first bus into Tampa tomorrow, and we'll go shopping!"

"Wha..? No! We can't!"

"We have to. Besides, I have $400 saved up from working at the aquarium!"

"Do you know how much trouble we'll be in?"

Cho sighed, "Come on, Luna." She gave her friend a smile.


End file.
